


The 1

by FormulaKate



Category: Formula 1 RPF, IndyCar RPF
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Light Angst, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:54:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27128854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FormulaKate/pseuds/FormulaKate
Summary: Heartbreak does weird things to people and in Lando's case, that's switching to IndyCar.
Relationships: Lando Norris/Max Verstappen
Comments: 8
Kudos: 75





	The 1

**Author's Note:**

> This didn't end up like I had planned it but the fic is loosely based on "the 1" by Taylor Swift. 
> 
> The idea for Lando switching to IndyCar came to me when Arrow McLaren let Oliver Askew go and then it just spiraled from there?
> 
> The short paragraphs are on purpose too? I'm not sure if that will bother anybody but yeah, that's how it came out aha.
> 
> And obviously this is fiction.

Heartbreak makes people do weird things.

And in Lando’s case, that was packing up his entire life, moving across the Atlantic to race IndyCar.

Nobody could believe it. If you would’ve told Lando six months prior that he would be giving up a Formula One seat, a good Formula One seat, for IndyCar -- he would have laughed.

It wasn’t that IndyCar wasn’t a worthy pursuit but usually, drivers ended up in IndyCar if they couldn’t get a seat in Formula One.

Or they were American.

But either way.

Drivers didn’t give up Formula One seats for IndyCar.

And nobody quite believed Lando when he said he needed a new challenge.

But Lando couldn’t tell them the truth, the real reason he was going over to IndyCar.

He had originally wanted out of his contract. He wanted to be done, he wanted to change his name and buy a house in the Alps and never be heard from again.

Heartbreak does weird things to people.

But Zak was adamant in reminding Lando that he still had a contract.

And Lando was just as adamant about not racing in Formula One anymore. So they struck a deal -- Lando would finish out his contract with McLaren’s IndyCar team, they’d still get their money’s worth out of Lando and then he could change his name and disappear to the Alps.

“What are you even doing this for?” Zak had asked in frustration when Lando first told him he wanted to be done with Formula One. “We’re finally competitive and you want to be done? Make it make sense.”

Lando couldn’t make it make sense, not to Zak anyways.

How could he make Zak understand that it felt like there was no oxygen in the paddock anymore? He wouldn’t understand that most of the time, Lando couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t think. And the car that had once been his refuge felt more like a prison when the blue and red Red Bull was always there, reminding him of everything that he wanted but could never have.

So he just shrugged. Lied to Zak, some bullshit excuse about just needing a change.

Maybe it wasn’t exactly a lie, he did need a change.

He needed to be as far away from Max Verstappen as he could get.

*  
His apartment in Indianapolis is nice.

He wishes he had brought his sim rig with him but the last time he sat in it, he cried. He had spent so much time racing with Max on that thing.

Everything reminded him of Max.

He couldn’t help it. They had been friends for so long, their lives were always intertwined.

That was why he had to go, he had to find somewhere Max hadn’t touched.

Someplace that Max hadn’t touched him.

When he finally turned his phone back on, he was shocked to see how many messages -- mostly confused ones -- there were.

He felt bad about not telling anybody about his career change, just letting McLaren put out a press release. But he knew if he told his friends -- Charles, George, Alex -- they would talk him out of leaving.

But they couldn’t understand -- being in the paddock was a special type of torture where Max was right there, acting like he was happy while Lando felt like he was drowning.

And he had been drowning. A silent type of drowning where everybody was watching but nobody knew.

Because you can’t tell anybody that your best friend broke your heart in the worst way.

Not when you’re Lando Norris and your best friend is Max Verstappen.  
*

Lando has friends in Indianapolis now.

It helps that Colton welcomed him with open arms like no time had passed, introducing him to his teammates and friends.

It was nice, people didn’t really recognize him in Indianapolis. They had no reason to, he wasn’t anybody to them yet.

He was still very much of an introvert but Colton made him go out on Friday nights and in return, Colton would hit whatever Sunday matinee Lando had his eye on.

Sometimes he itched to text Max random things like he used to.

One time, on the way back from a Sunday matinee, Lando typed out a message to Max.

_**You know, the greatest films of all time we’re never made. Isn’t that something?** _

He desperately wanted to send it. But he knew Max wouldn’t text back — hell, Max probably had him blocked.

And suddenly he found himself swallowed in the past, replaying every moment of their relationship.

They had been friends forever, for as long as Lando could remember at least. But one day, one look had changed everything and Max had him pinned in a coat closet, their tongues tangled and Lando knew nothing would be the same ever again.

And in typical Lando fashion, he had thrown himself into their relationship. He was prepared to give up everything, to give up his career for Max.

It was so fun at first. The sneaking around, the stolen glances, the forbidden touches, and kisses, pulling each other into random rooms in the paddock.

Max had loved the thrill, Lando could see that. But they were best friends, Lando loved Max so he wasn’t worried.

He was sure Max had loved him just the same. Lando was sure that this was it, he would spend the rest of his life devoted to Max.

They had spent all of summer break traveling the world together.

They kissed atop the Eiffel Tower, not even caring if anybody noticed them or recognized them. For a moment, the world around them was gone and for the first time since Lando could remember, he wasn’t worried about anything.

They tossed pennies into the Trevi Fountain and Lando wished things would always be this good. Max’s laugh rang out as he tossed the coins over his shoulder and Lando wished that he could hear that every day for the rest of his life.

But wishes don’t always come true.

“Stay at my place?” Lando had asked, hopeful to squeeze the last bit of free time in with Max.

Max shoved his hands in his pockets, his brow furrowed. “Look, I don’t think this is going to work out.”

“Don’t joke like that.” Lando tried to laugh, waiting for Max to do the same.

Max shook his head. “I’m not joking.” And just like that, he was gone.

Still, Lando held onto the hope that this was some sort of joke, maybe a test. Something, anything other than the man he loved just ending things with no explanation.

Max ignored texts and phone calls. It didn’t take long for Lando to get the message, to realize that it wasn’t some sort of joke, that Max had dropped him like a hot potato.

“Are you okay?” Colton’s voice pulled him out of his memories, saving him from wallowing in the anguish that had followed.

Lando nodded, pressing the backspace on the text message and dimming his phone screen. One time, Colton had asked him why he switched to IndyCar and for the first and only time, he gave an answer that was mostly the truth.

“Do you want lunch?” Colton offered. “I know a place.” His lips twisted into a half-smile.

Normally Lando would say yes but he was tired — it was almost as if remembering Max drained all of his energy. “Next time.” He promised and Colton seemed satisfied with that.

Pulling the mountain of blankets on his bed over him, he closed his eyes.

He tried to think about anything other than Max but Max’s blue eyes kept coming into focus -- the crinkles on the sides of his eyes when he smiled.

As Lando drifted off to sleep, he wondered what Max was up to. He imagined Max spending his offseason going on all of the adventures he had told Lando he wanted to go on. Lando had always assumed that Max had wanted to bring him along too.

He imagined Max meeting somebody in a ski resort in the Alps, her pretty blonde hair and clear blue eyes would be just Max’s type. He’d bring her home and his parents would gush that she was perfect for Max.

Lando tossed the blankets off of his body. He didn’t want to imagine Max would be happy without him, not when he wasn’t sure he’d ever be happy without Max.

  
*  
Colton’s girlfriend dumped him in a way that reminded Lando of what Max had done.

He felt so bad for his friend and while consoling Colton, he tells him about his heartbreak, the full unabridged version.

He doesn’t know why he’s telling Colton other than they’re friends and he trusts him but also he finds solace in the fact that somebody finally could understand his anguish.

Colton listens intently and when Lando finishes, he waits for Lando to wipe his tears before thumping him on the back with his signature smile. “Heartbreak does weird things to people, doesn’t it?”

Lando let out a breath he had been holding the entire time, he laughed. “I don’t know how to be anything else besides drastic.”

Colton laughed too but stopped, thinking for a moment. “I’m glad you switched to IndyCar.” He finally confessed.

Lando was too. He was even considering asking Zak to let him renew his contract at the end of the season, to stay in IndyCar long term.

There was something about IndyCar that just felt right in a way that Lando had never felt in Formula One.

Maybe it was the atmosphere or the people. Maybe it was the thrill of the ovals, the pageantry of the Indy 500, Lando wasn’t sure. But he felt at home in Indianapolis and he had started to wonder if this is where he had always been meant to be.

Suddenly, he didn’t want to change his name and move to the Alps. He wanted to stay in Indianapolis.

He wanted to race IndyCar.

*

Slowly, Lando had reconciled with his friends from Formula One.

It had been George first. His tactic was incessant calls about three months after Lando moved to Indianapolis.

“Listen, Lando. We don’t have to talk about it.” He told Lando when Lando finally found the courage to answer after the fifteenth call in as many minutes. “But I just want to know you’re okay.”

Charles had been next, sending an iMessage game invite. They played without conversation for a few weeks before Charles FaceTimed. “Show me your new place?” He had asked, his nervousness not lost on Lando.

Alex had taken a bit longer but Lando understood. He wasn’t sure he would’ve been so quick to forgive either. Finally one day, Alex sent Lando a meme -- the icebreaker into conversations.

But one night, George invited Lando to play Among Us and voice chat on Discord. And it was like no time had passed between the four of them. They laughed and played for hours.

“Have you talked to Max?” George asked as the last game wound down.

Lando’s heart pounded at the mention of his former lover. He hadn’t even though he desperately wanted to.

This question had been bouncing around in his head ever since he landed in Indianapolis -- if one thing had been different, would everything be different? If they hadn’t been Formula One drivers, would things have ended differently?

Sometimes when the anguish of his heartbreak washed over him like it was fresh, Lando would imagine that things had been different, that it hadn’t ended in heartbreak.

Swallowing the heartbreak, Lando replied with a simple, “No.”

**  
Lando did sign another contract with IndyCar.

Zak had offered him his seat back in Formula One but he had declined. His rookie campaign in IndyCar had ended with a race win, a handful of podiums, and the Rookie of the Year award.

He felt like he belonged in IndyCar.

IndyCar felt like home.

*

He reunited with George, Alex, and Charles in Indianapolis that May.

True to his word, Roger Penske had brought Formula One back to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a spectacular weekend that kicked off the month of May and featured both Formula One and IndyCar.

Lando had spent months preparing himself for it. The likelihood that he would have to see Max was high and he wasn’t sure how he’d feel.

So he focused on the positives, all three of his friends had invited themselves to stay in Lando’s apartment.

George had called it, “A week-long sleepover to make up for abandoning us.” Lando couldn’t argue with that.

He threw himself into planning, trying to narrow down all of the coolest places in Indianapolis to show them, finding the best places for them to eat, coordinating with Colton, and all of his Indianapolis friends.

He hoped George, Alex, and Charles would get along with Colton, Zach, and Pato. It was like his old life and new life was merging, he finally felt like he was at a place where he could have both.

“LANDO!” Three voices shouted through the airport and Lando wished he had just sent an Uber for them.

The dogpile on the cold airport tile only doubled down on that wish. But at the bottom of the pile, Lando’s heart swelled with happiness.

His friends were here and they had forgiven him, they had chosen to love him even when he had tried so hard to disappear. They had chosen to love him when the person he thought loved him had walked away -- not that they knew that.

And that meant everything.

**  
Somebody thought it’d be a good idea to do joint press conferences with the IndyCar drivers and Formula One drivers.

And just Lando’s luck, he ended up in the same session with Max.

It was he, Colton, Max, Charles, George, and Alex. He tried to focus on the fact that four of his best friends would be beside him but his mind was stuck on the fact that he’d have to be in the same room as Max, that he’d have to be close to Max.

“Why aren’t you excited to catch up with Max?” George asked late one night, probably overhearing Lando’s panicked phone call to Colton.

Lando bit down on his lip, trying to decide if he should tell the truth. It had been over a year and he knew that his friends deserved the truth, they had deserved the truth all along.

“In short, no.” George’s eyes widened as Lando launched into the tale, sparing his friends most of the details before arriving at the end. He blinked back tears as he recounted the way Max had just ended things with no warning.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” George pulled Lando into a hug.

“Do you want us to kick his ass?” Charles offered. “It’s never too late.”

“You were too good for him.” Alex scoffed with a smile and a hug.

Lando told his friends about how being in the paddock was suffocating. He told them about how he had originally wanted out of racing completely, he had wanted to change his name and move to the Alps but Zak had forced him to keep his contract in IndyCar.

Telling them was freeing, Lando hadn’t realized how freeing but it felt like a twenty-pound weight had been lifted off of his chest.

He could face Max.

He arrived at the press conference, flanked by Charles and George on one side and Alex and Colton on the other. He had reassured them that they hadn’t needed to but they had all insisted.

They all sat down, George rearranging the placards so Lando was on one end of the table and Max was on the other.

Lando’s leg bounced under the table as he waited for Max to show up. He wondered if Max was going to skip it but at the last moment, Max’s figure lingered in the doorway.

Lando’s stomach flipped and he gripped the edge of the table to steady himself but there was nothing.

There were no feelings as Max approached the table.

He was going to be alright.

*

“I propose a toast.” George picked up his glass of Rosé. “To new friends and old and chosen family.”

Lando grabbed his glass but his attention was drawn to a table across from the restaurant.

Max, surrounded by a whole group of friends were laughing as they made their own toasts.

He looked so happy, a pit formed in Lando’s stomach. Lando knew he’d always probably wish that things had happened differently, wished that things had ended differently.

But as he swallowed the Rosé, surrounded by his best friends, Lando knew this was exactly where he was meant to be.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me [here](http://www.formulakate.tumblr.com) on tumblr! 
> 
> Thanks for reading!!


End file.
